Field convertible telecommunications distribution pedestal

ABSTRACT

A cable mounting structure for a telecommunications cable distribution pedestal is provided. The structure has back to back compartments and a universal mounting plate. The structure also includes protection and organization features. The structure is field convertible, reconfigurable and upgradeable. A method for field converting a telecommunications cable distribution pedestal is also given.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to telecommunications distributionpedestals for copper and/or fiber optic cable.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Telecommunications pedestals are commonly used by the telecommunicationindustry to house and protect connections and splices of copper wire orfiber optic cable. The Applicants have recognized that existingtelecommunications pedestals are often unsatisfactory and havelimitations that may be overcome.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a cable mountingstructure for a telecommunications cable distribution pedestal. Thecable mounting structure includes a universal mounting plate adapted forsupporting a plurality of hardened fiber cable connectors.

According to another aspect, a method of field converting atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal includes removing coppercable and copper cable equipment from an existing mounting plate. Amounting plate is removed from the telecommunications cable distributionpedestal and a new cable mounting structure is installed in thetelecommunications cable distribution pedestal. Fiber cable andequipment is installed in the new cable mounting structure. The newcable mounting structure includes a first compartment and a secondcompartment. The first compartment and the second compartment areback-to-back compartments.

According to an additional aspect, a cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal is disclosed. The cablemounting structure includes a mounting plate and the mounting plate hasat least one fastener standoff on at least one side of the mountingplate. The standoff is used for attaching distribution components to oneside of the mounting plate without mechanically interfering withdistribution components on the other side of the mounting plate. Thedistribution components mounted on the other side include componentsmounted in the same horizontal and vertical position.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a cable mountingstructure for a telecommunications cable distribution pedestal isdisclosed. The cable mounting structure includes multiple back-to-backcompartments. Each compartment includes a peripheral flange and supportsone or more cable distribution components. Each flange extends outwardlyat least as far as the cable distribution components.

According to yet another aspect, a cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal is disclosed. The cablemounting structure includes an adjustable splice tray support bracketcapable of supporting at least one splice tray. The adjustable splicetray support bracket is operable to adjust to accommodate various sizesplice trays.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a telecommunications cable distributionpedestal.

FIG. 2 a is an isometric view of one side of a cable mounting structurefor a telecommunications cable distribution pedestal.

FIG. 2 b is an isometric view of the other side of a cable mountingstructure for a telecommunications cable distribution pedestal.

FIG. 3 a is an isometric view of a cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal mounted on a base.

FIG. 3 b is an isometric view of a cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal mounted on a base.

FIG. 4 is an exploded isometric view of a cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal and a base.

FIG. 5 is a method for field converting a cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal.

FIG. 6 a is an isometric view of a cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal including a hinge.

FIG. 6 b is a close up of the hinge if FIG. 6 a.

FIG. 6 c is an isometric view of a cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal including one part of ahinge.

FIG. 6 d is a close up of the portion of the hinge in FIG. 6 c.

FIG. 6 e is an isometric view of a door for a cable mounting structureincluding another part of a hinge.

FIG. 6 f is a close up of the portion of the hinge in FIG. 6 e.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a cable mounting structure mounted on amounted on a base.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Itshould be understood that throughout the drawings, correspondingreference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

With reference to FIG. 1, a telecommunications cable distributionpedestal, generally indicated by the reference numeral 100, consists ofa dome 102, a cable mounting structure 104, and a base 106. The dome,the base, and the cable mounting structure have a substantiallyrectangular configuration. Alternatively, the dome, base and cablemounting structure may have a different shape. The dome is sized to fitover the cable mounting structure with the interior of the dome in closeproximity to the cable mounting structure. The dome also fits over andis supported by a portion of the base as is illustrates in FIG. 1. Thedome thus provides cover, protection and weather proofing for the cablemounting structure and items mounted upon the cable mounting structure.This combination provides physical and weather protection for the cable,wire, connections and other elements contained on or within the cablemounting structure. Sometimes additional protection is desired. This canbe achieved by surrounding a compartment of the cable mounting structurewith a peripheral flange that covers the components in the compartmentand/or a door that closes over a compartment. These and otherembodiments will be discussed more fully below.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b illustrate the cable mounting structure 204 accordingto one embodiment of this disclosure. The cable mounting structure hasmultiple back-to-back compartments. The cable mounting structure has afirst compartment 208, shown in FIG. 2 a, and a second compartment 210,shown in FIG. 2 b.

As shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, the cable mounting structure includes amounting plate 212 and the mounting plate includes a plurality offastener standoffs 214. The fastener standoffs are used for attachingthe distribution components to one side of the mounting plate withoutthe attachment mechanically interfering with distribution component onthe second side of the mounting plate. The standoff raises thedistribution component above the surface of the mounting plate to createa clearance so that screws or bolts can be used to attach items to theother side of the plate. Distribution components may, therefore, bemounted in the same horizontal and vertical position on the mountingplate on each side of the mounting plate. Because of the standoffs,there is no need to adjust the position of components on one side of themounting plate to avoid interfering with mounting locations forcomponents on the second side of the mounting plate. Although FIGS. 2 aand 2 b illustrate a plurality of fastener standoffs, the cable mountingstructure may have more or less, or even no, fastener standoffs. Thefastener standoffs may also be separate parts attached to the mountingplate or a unitary part of the mounting plate. The standoffs may bemolded into the mounting plate as part of the mounting plate when themounting plate is formed.

This mounting plate is a universal mounting plate adapted to support aplurality of distribution components in different numbers andcombinations. The distribution components may be for copper wire orfiber optic cable. The distribution components are available from anumber of different manufacturers and in a variety of configurations.The mounting plate is adapted to mount the components from anymanufacturer in any combination. Copper wire and fiber optic cabledistribution components may be mixed in the cable mounting structure,either in the same compartment or copper in one compartment and fiberoptic cable in the other compartment. The distribution components mayinclude, without limitation, cable management guides, ground wire posts,strength member clamps, splice trays, splice tray support brackets,radius limiting spools, support plates for non-hardened connections,hardened connector blocks, copper blocks, hardened and non-hardenedpre-connectorized fiber cable connections.

The cable mounting structure also has a peripheral flange 216. Theflange extends outward from the back of each compartment at least as faras any distribution components mounted on the mounting plate. Thisflange aids in protecting the cable, wire and distribution components.The peripheral flange is molded as a unitary part of the cable mountingstructure. Alternatively, the peripheral flange may be a removablyattached flange or may be a unitary part of the mounting plate.

The mounting plate also includes at least one through hole 216 forrouting cable between the first compartment and the second compartment.This through hole allows cable to be routed through the mounting platerather than around, under or over the mounting plate. Therefore, itdecreases the amount of cable used and aids in the organization withinthe cable mounting structure.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show a telecommunications cable distribution pedestal300, according to another embodiment. The telecommunications cabledistribution pedestal consists of a dome (not shown), a cable mountingstructure 304, and a base 306. FIGS. 3 a and 3 b illustrate the cablemounting structure including hardened fiber cable connectors 318 mountedin a first compartment while a second compartment of the cable mountingstructure contains a second type of hardened fiber cable connectorsknown as hardened fiber blocks 320. Hardened fiber cable connections areavailable in a variety of numbers and configurations. Non-hardened fibercable connections (not shown) and some hardened fiber cable connectionsare not weather tight and benefit from additional protection from theelements. Some features for providing such additional protection will bediscussed below. The hardened fiber blocks are weather tight connectorsfor fiber optic cable connection, available in multiple numbers andconfigurations and are manufactured by several different manufacturers.The weather tight nature of the hardened connections, allows them to beused without additional protection from the elements. Although FIGS. 3 aand 3 b illustrate hardened connections, hardened and non-hardenedconnections can be used together and in numerous combinations in thesame compartment or in separate compartments. Additionally, theseconnections may be used in numerous combinations with any additionaldistribution components.

Additional protection for the distribution components is provided by anumber of features of the telecommunications cable distributionpedestal. The dome provides a first level of protection for thedistribution components. The cable mounting structure shown in FIGS. 3 aand 3 b also has a peripheral flange 316. As discussed above, theperipheral flange surrounds at least three sides of a compartment andextends in an approximately perpendicular direction away from themounting plate 312 at least as far as the distribution componentsmounted on the mounting plate. Thus, even when the dome is removed, orif the dome leaks, the distribution components, such as the hardenedconnections 318 and 320, are completely protected by the peripheralflange above and along the sides. Protection for the remaining side,i.e. the bottom, may be obtained by adding a removable bottom plate 322.When the bottom plate is attached, the flange and the bottom plate forma complete perimeter of protection around the compartment. The bottomplate also has grommets 324 through the plate. These grommets allowfiber optic cable or copper wire to be brought through the perimeter ofprotection into the compartment while maintaining the protectivebenefits.

A further level of protection may be obtained by attaching doors to thecable mounting structure. As shown in FIG. 3 a, the cable mountingstructure includes two doors 326. Although two doors are shown, thecable mounting structure can have any number of doors (including nodoors). FIG. 3 b illustrates the use of one door. The removably attacheddoor is operable to open and close. When closed, the door covers thecompartment. The doors can provide additional protection for the cable,wire and distribution components from the elements, animals andunauthorized access.

The door is attached to the cable mounting structure via a snapconnection hinge 328. This hinge allows the door to be snapped on andoff the cable mounting structure without the use of tools. The hingewill be discussed in more detail below.

The door includes a recessed portion 330. This recessed portion providesadditional space to accommodate cable, wire and devices housed in thecable mounting structure. Additionally, the recessed portion providesadditional protection for the cable within the cable mounting structure.

A cable mounting structure 404, and a base 406 according to anotherembodiment of the disclosure are shown in FIG. 4. The cable mountingstructure has a back to back first compartment 408 and secondcompartment (not visible). Each compartment also has a door 426. Thisremovably attached door is operable to open and close. When closed, thedoor covers the associated compartment. The first compartment in thisembodiment is configured for copper distribution components. The firstcompartment includes a wire splice tray support bracket 432 that will bediscussed further below.

Splice trays are used for making fiber cable connections. They aremanufactured in various sizes and widths by numerous manufacturers. Theadjustable splice tray support bracket mounts within the cable mountingstructure and can be adjusted to accept and mount any of the variouslysized splice trays available on the market at this time.

With reference to FIG. 4, the cable mounting structure is alsoconfigured to attach to the pedestal base without hardware. The cablemounting structure includes legs 434 that allow the cable mountingstructure to mount to the pedestal base without any additional hardware.The legs fit in and removably lock in a slot in the base. The legs maybe removably attached to the cable mounting structure or they may be aunitary part of the cable mounting structure. The removably attachedlegs may be attached by any means including screws or bolts. The unitarylegs are molded as part of the cable mounting structure when the cablemounting structure is formed.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of field converting a telecommunicationscable distribution pedestal generally indicated by 538. At step 540, thecopper cable and copper cable equipment are removed from an existingmounting plate. The mounting plate is then removed from thetelecommunications cable distribution pedestal at step 542. A new cablemounting structure that includes a back to back first compartment andsecond compartment is installed in the telecommunications cabledistribution pedestal at 544. At step 546, fiber cable and equipment isinstalled in the new cable mounting structure. The copper cable andequipment is reinstalled in the new cable mounting structure at step548. Alternatively, fiber cable and equipment may be installed in thefirst compartment of the new cable mounting structure while copper cableand copper cable equipment is installed in the second compartment orfiber cable only may be installed in the cable mounting structure.

Referring to FIGS. 6 a through 6 f, according to another embodiment thecable mounting structure includes a door 626 removably attached to thecable mounting structure 604 by a hinge 628. FIG. 6 b illustrate anenlarged view of the complete hinge. The hinge includes a flex finger650 and a catch 652. The hinge is configured such that the hinge willtravel without resistance for a first portion of its maximum travel andwill then encounter resistance because of the interaction of the flexfinger and the catch. This resistance will continue for a second portionof the travel of the hinge. The hinge will again travel withoutresistance for a third portion until it reaches its maximum travel. Theresistance in the second portion will permit a door to which the hingeis attached to open and close with some force applied by a user, butwill prevent the door from closing or fully opening unintentionally dueto wind, gravity or other causes.

As shown in FIGS. 6 c-6 f, the hinge is a two-piece hinge consisting ofa first hinge piece 654 and a second hinge piece 656. The cable mountingstructure in FIG. 6 c includes the second hinge piece 656. FIG. 62illustrates a close-up of the second hinge piece including the catch.Although the second hinge piece and catch are shown as unitary parts ofthe cable mounting structure, they may also be separate parts attachedto the cable mounting structure. FIG. 6 e illustrates the first hingepiece on a door 626. A close-up of the first hinge piece is illustratedin FIG. 6 f. The first hinge piece includes the flex finger 650.Although the first hinge piece and flex finger are shown as unitaryparts of the door, they may alternatively be separate parts attached tothe door. Alternatively, the flex finger may be a part of the secondhinge piece and the catch may be part of the first hinge piece. Thelocations of the first hinge piece and the second hinge piece may alsobe reversed such that they are part of the cable mounting structure andthe door respectively.

The first and second hinge pieces connect together to form the hinge.Connecting the pieces together to form the hinge also mounts the door tothe cable mounting structure. The first hinge piece and the second hingepiece connect to each other to form the complete hinge via a snap fit.No tools are necessary to assemble the hinge or, therefore, mount thedoor to the cable mounting structure.

An additional embodiment of telecommunications cable distributionpedestal 700 is illustrated by FIG. 7. The telecommunications cabledistribution pedestal consists of a dome (not shown), a cable mountingstructure 704, and a base 706. The cable mounting structure has back toback compartments and includes a door 726 removably attached to a rearcompartment (not visible). The front compartment has hardened fiberoptic connectors mounted to the mounting plate 712 in the frontcompartment. The front compartment also includes a door 758. The door758 does not cover the entire front compartment. The door only coversthe portion of the compartment at and above the base plate for thehardened fiber optic connectors. This configuration provides protectionfor the top side of the connectors, which is often the side in need ofadditional protection, while leaving free access to the bottom of theconnectors and any additional distribution components mounted belowthem. Such a configuration is less expensive to manufacture and is lessdifficult for installers to work with. Although the door 758 isillustrated covering the area above one set of hardened connectors, thedoor 758 can be any length so long as it is less than the entire lengthof the compartment. Therefore the door may be sized to enclose one ormore sets of hardened connectors or other distribution components whileleaving additional distribution components, or unused space, uncoveredand exposed.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tocertain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the presentdisclosure is not limited to such specific embodiments. Specifically,the various elements described in this disclosure may be combined,removed, or included in different combinations without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Other modifications and additions may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

1. A method of field converting a telecommunications cable distributionpedestal comprising the steps of: removing copper cable and copper cableequipment from an existing mounting plate; removing the existingmounting plate from the telecommunications cable distribution pedestal,the new cable mounting structure including a first compartment and asecond compartment and the first compartment and the second compartmentare back-to-back compartments; reinstalling the copper cable and thecopper cable equipment in the first compartment; and installing fibercable and equipment in the second compartment.
 2. A cable mountingstructure for a telecommunications cable distribution pedestal, thecable mounting structure comprising a mounting plate, the mounting platehaving at least one fastener standoff on at least one side of themounting plate, the at least one fastener standoff for attaching a firstdistribution components to one side of the mounting plate and raisinsaid first distribution components above a surface of the mounting plateto create a clearance to avoid mechanical interference with a seconddistribution components on the other side of the mounting plate mountedin the same horizontal and vertical position.
 3. The cable mountingstructure of claim 2 wherein the at least one fastener standoff is aunitary part of the mounting plate.
 4. A cable mounting structure for atelecommunications cable distribution pedestal, the cable mountingstructure comprising multiple back-to-back compartments, and a centralplate separating the back-to-back compartments, each of saidcompartments including a peripheral flange and supporting one or morecable distribution components, each of said flanges extending outwardlyat least as far as at least one of said cable distribution components.5. The cable mounting structure of claim 4 wherein the cabledistribution components are selected from the group of cable managementguides, ground wire posts, strength member clamps, splice trays, splicetray support brackets, radius limiting spools, support plates fornon-hardened connections, hardened connector blocks, and copper blocks.6. The cable mounting structure of claim 4 wherein the central plateincludes at least one hole for routing a cable between the compartments.7. The cable mounting structure of claim 4 wherein the central plate andeach of said flanges are a single unitary part of the cable mountingstructure.
 8. The cable mounting structure of claim 4 wherein each ofsaid flanges extends along at least a top and opposite sides of itsassociated compartment.
 9. The cable mounting structure of claim 8further comprising a bottom plate, the bottom plate removably attachableto one of the back-to-back compartments, the bottom plate extendingalong a bottom of its associated compartment and the bottom platecreating a substantially continuous perimeter with one of the flanges.10. The cable mounting structures of claim 9 wherein the bottom plate isconfigured to allow a cable to enter the associated compartment throughthe bottom plate.